Beth hit the deck when Peyton's computer exploded. Has to be his power supply, she thought. Roger was on the floor next to her. The bang had sounded like gunfire, and smoke filled the air. Debris was flying, fans thrashing it helter-skelter, as Noah trained a fire extinguisher on Peyton's computer.

"Too hot, Peyton," Austin croaked.

"I'm so sorry," Peyton said. "I got distracted when I was cranking up the voltage."

"Beth, are you OK?" Roger asked. She was dizzy, and suddenly chilled. She saw that frost had built up on her computer containers.

She noticed Roger's socks - bright red bits and bytes design. She smiled. But what was he doing here?

Austin's eyes popped. "Oh, hi, sir," he said in a small voice. "Welcome to A T 101."

Beth had never heard Austin utter "sir," let alone speak in such a humble voice.

"Call me Roger," he told Austin, and then he turned to Beth. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I'll start the chicken," Noah said, taking off for the kitchen. "I'm Noah, by the way."

"And I'm Devesh."

"Nice meeting you," Austin said, heading up the stairs with Peyton and Devesh. They stared at both Roger and Beth as they exited, which made Beth laugh.

"What's so funny?" Roger said.

"I don't know," Beth said. "They're usually not this well behaved."

She was barefoot in a sweaty T-shirt that fell almost to her knees, her hair blown into a nest. She thought that Roger was very sweet - but hadn't she just told him the other night that she wasn't going to see him?

"Why are you here?" Beth asked.

"Please don't say no," Roger said. "I'm on my way to a dinner with some folks, and I'd love for you to join me."

"Oh, gosh, sorry. I'm on dinner duty tonight," Beth said.

"I've got the chicken under control," Noah yelled from the kitchen, though Beth detected an alarming amount of smoke coming from the cooking oil. Noah barely knew how to boil an egg.

Beth paused. She didn't know whether to be more worried by the peeping drones or her eavesdropping roommates. Austin was probably recording their conversation from upstairs, she thought only half jokingly.

"I look like I've been Tasered," Beth said. "This isn't a good time."

"You look perfect," Roger said. "Beautiful, actually."

Beth smiled. He got an "A" for effort, but she wasn't going to cave. She felt just a little bit invaded. Was there any place she could go where she couldn't be found? She thought of the drone, her heart thumping. Had she escorted the wrong person this time? She had told Roger no. She liked to make decisions and slam the door shut.

"I didn't try hard enough when I dropped you off," Roger said.

What? Beth looked at him. His eyes were really blue, almost purple. Hadn't she just told Private Idaho online to keep trying? She and Roger were on the same wavelength. It moved her that someone could keep trying at something and eventually get there. You just had to care enough.

Saturday: A business dinner, with a twist.

Fictional serial Click City runs Wednesdays and Saturdays in Datebook.